Petrobras CEO Met With Police at Headquarters as Scandals Deepen

By Peter Millard -
Apr 11, 2014

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4) Chief
Executive Officer Maria das Gracas Foster gave documents to the
federal police as a bribery audit and potential congressional
probe into a refinery purchase has heightened public scrutiny
into the state oil producer.

A police chief and three agents met with the CEO at the
company’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro today with a warrant
for documents on a “specific contract”, the company said in an
e-mailed statement. Foster had her legal department deliver the
documents to the police, it said.

The documents are part of an investigation into a 10
billion reais ($4.5 billion) money laundering operation, said a
person familiar with the investigation, who requested anonymity
because the investigation is ongoing. Petrobras’s former head of
refining, Paulo Costa, was one of the people arrested last month
for involvement in the so-called Lava Jato case.

The money laundering case comes as lawmakers question
current and former officials on the 2006 purchase of the
Pasadena refinery in Texas from Astra Oil Trading NV for a total
cost of $1.2 billion. The company also conducted an internal
audit last month into alleged bribes from offshore platform
provider SBM Offshore NV, and found no wrongdoing.

Petrobras’s press office declined to comment on any links
to the Lava Jato case. The federal police didn’t immediately
respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Earlier today the police
said it carried out 2 arrests and 15 searches in Sao Paulo,
Campinas, Rio de Janeiro, Macae and Niteroi to find documents to
help with investigations into the money laundering operation.